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DISCOURSE. 



A 



DELIVERED AT 

NEW-HAVEN, 

FEB. 22, l8oo ; 

ON THE CHARACTER 

OF 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, Efq. 

AT THE 

REQUEST OF THE CITIZENS; 



By TIMOTHY DWIGHT, D.D. 

PRESIDENT OF 'S^ALE-COLLEGE. 



PRINTED BY THOMAS GREEN AND SON, 

NEW-HAVEN : 

]8qOv 



182/1 



•'7 



mmaaxsBEBiamt 



A PROCLAMATION, 

BY THE PRESIDENT of the United States of America* 

WHEREAS the Congrefs of the United States have 
this day refolved, '' That it be recowimeiided to the People 
of the United States to afiemble on the 22d clay of Februa- 
ry next, in fuch numbers and manners as m^iy be conveni- 
ent, publicly to teftify their grief for the death of general 
George Wafilington, by fuitable eulogies, orations iinddif- 
courfes, or by public prayers:" and << That the Pjtiident 
of the United States be requefted* to iiTue a Proclamation 
for the purpofe of carrying the foregoing refolution into 
effed." Now Therefore, 1 John Adams, Prefident of 
the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the fame 
accordingly. 

Given under my hand and the fed of the Untied St ateSy at 
Philadelphia, the fixth day cf January, in the year of 
our Lord, one thoufand eii^ht hundred, and of the Inde- 
pendence of the United States the t-wenty. fourth. 

JOHN ADAMS. 

By the Prefident y 

TIMOTHY PICKERING, Secretary of State, 



IN purfuance of the foregoing proclamation, the citizens 
of New-Haven convened and appointed a cpmmittee, with 
full powers, to make fuitable arrangements for a public tef- 
timony of the refpeft of the citizens for the memory of 
General George Vv'^alliington. Purfuani? to this appoint- 
ment the committee agreed on the following exercifes and 
marks of grief, which were exhibited on the 22d inftant. / 

At fix o'clock in the morning, the folemnities of the 
4ay were introduced by the tolling of all the bells for \\Ai 
an hour. The tolling was repeated at nine and twelve 
©'clock. The flag of the United States v as dii'played, or, 
the public fquare, at half ilafF, and the Ihipping in the hai> 
llrour dil'pl ay ed colours, througli the day, at half, mail?. 



At two o'clock P.M. the citizens affembled, in unufual 
concourfe, at the brick Meeting-houfe, where were per- 
formed the following exerciies : 

1. A F'jneral Anthem. 

2. An appropriate Prayer, by the Rev. James 
Dana, D.D. 

3. Mufic. 

4. A Sermon, by the Rev. Prefident D wight. 

5. The reading of Gen. Wafliington's farewell Ad- 
drefs, to the Citizens of the United States, on 
declining public Life, by the Rev. Bela Hubbard. 

6. A pertinent Prayer, by the Rev. John Gemmil. 

7. A Funeral Dirge. 

The citizens of both fexes wore, on the left arm, black 
crape, or ribbons, as badges of mourning ; the pulpit was 
drelTed in black ; fecular bufinefs was fufpended ; the exer- 
cifes were folemn and impreffive ; and the attention and 
conduiSt of the citizens evidenced their gratitude for the 
eminent fervices, and their veneration for the diftinguifhed 
virtues, of the illuftrious man, whofe death they deplored. 



AT a Meeting of the Comtnlltee af j^rrangements, Febru- 
ary 24, 1800, Resolved, That '-he thanks of the citizens 
of New-Haven be prefented to the Rev. Timothy Dwight, 
D.D. for his pertinent and eloquent Difcourfe, delivered 
on the 22d inftant, and that a copy be requefted for publi- 
cation. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of the town, the dif- 
courfe, and General Walhington's farewell addrefs, be 
publiihed for the benefit of the citizens of New-Hnven, and 
^o perpetuate the remembrance of the melancholy occafion. 

By order of the Committee, 

HENRY DAGGETT, Chairman.. 



swa 



DEUTERONOMYj XXXIV. lO, II, 12. 

And there arofe not a prophet, fince in IJraely like un^ 
to McJeSy whom the Lord knew face to face j 

In all the figns and wonders^ which the Lord fent 
him to do in the land, of Egypt^ to Pharaohy a?id 
to all his Jervants^ and to all his land -, 

And in all that mighty hand, and in all that great 
terror^ which Mojes, fhewed in the figjot of all ffraeL 

JL O praife liich as have lately died, is the in- 
ftin6live conduft of forrovy. From thofe -who fur- 
round the bed of a departed friend, the firft accenrsj 
■which fucceed the involuntary burft of anguifh, are 
enumerations of his real or fuppofed virtues. Even 
in the mouths of the intelligent, and in the chambers 
of the refined and delicate, the praife is warm and 
unqualified, and nature overleaps every bound, rail^ 
ed by artificial decorum. Among nations lefs en- 
lightened, open and ftrong commendations of the 
dead are inwoven in the eflablifhed manners, and 
demanded by common decency ; while, among la- 
vages, funeral fongs, replete with paflTionate fenti- 
ments, glowing imagery, and exceflive panegyric, 
are prominent features of national chara6ter, and 
fplendid parts of public celebration. 

To this general voice of nature Revelation has 
added its lupreme fanftion. The text, which I have 
jufl now read, is an eulogy of the higheft ki^(;^^ 



When we remember the numbers, and the charac- 
ter, of the prophets who followed Moles -, when 
we confider that of this number were Samuel, Da- 
vid, Ifaiah, and Daniel ; we cannot but feel, that 
it would have been difficult to afcribe to him a more 
honorable charafter. 

What then has been the caufe, that no efforts 
of the mind have been lefs approved, than funeral 
eulogies -, and that an infipid panegyric is become 
proverbial phrafeology ? Has it not been, on the 
one hand, that grief, and not reafon, has given birth 
to the praife, and that grief alone can admit its 
truth, or feel its propriety ? Has it not been, on 
the other hand, that the Eulogift has come, in form, 
to make the moft of his theme j to create a charafter 
which has not exifted, and to fupply worth which 
he does not find j todifplay his ingenuity, rather than 
the features of the deceafed ; and to gain applaufe 
for his own talents, rather than refpeft for the fub- 
jefl of his panegyric. For thefe, or fome other rea- 
fons, few attempts of this nature have fucceeded ; 
and the effort to gain efteem for the dead has ter- 
minated in producing contempt for the living. 

Beside the difficulties, always attendant on 
attempts of this nature, the prefent occafion in- 
volves fome, which arc peculiar. The fubjed: 
of eulogy at this time is fo Iplendid,. as to in- 
duce, and authorize, every man to demand all 
that canbefaid by the human genius, and toilipu- 
late for its nobleft efforts only ; fo near to the heart 
of an American, as to warrant an unqualified re- 
jeftion of whatfoever falls beneath its expectations, 
and its wifhes j fo often and fo illuflrioufly panegy- 
rized, both at home and abroad, as to leave little 
chance for novelty, or fuccefs. The very nan:ie of 
Wafhington has become an equivalent to the high- 
eft human dignity and worth, and ail additions to it 



?iave long pafTed rather for the mere unburdening of 
an American heart, than for the means of honour- 
ing his charailer. Where fo much is demanded, 
and fo little will be accepted, temerity only can fur- 
nifli confidence to the fpeaker, and perfuade him, 
that he fliall fatisfy the wifhes of his fellow citizens. 

To Ibme perfon, however, the taflc, afllgned to 
me, muft have fallen j and to none could it have 
fallen without anxiety. I have ventured upon it, 
with an intention to perform a duty, not with a 
hope to fulfil expedation. Funeral panegyric I 
have always Hiunned ; and would more willingly 
have avoided it on this occafion, than on any other. 

This apology, which may probably feem long, 
and ufelefs, will, ic is hoped, neverthelefs prove of 
fome ufe to the fpeaker. It is hoped, that ic will, 
in fome degree, juftify the undertaking, and explain 
and vindicate the manner in which it will be execu- 
ted ; that it will lead my audience to exped, and 
ihew the reafons why I ITiall exhibit, a plain and 
challized account of my fubjeft; and that it will in- 
duce them to confider what I fhall aflert, however 
it may differ from their opinions and feelings, as be- 
lieved and felt by me. 

Human greatnefs is of many kinds, and appears 
under many forms ; but the diverlities of perfonal 
greatnefs have their foundation in the intelleft, and 
in the heart. How far this is, in either cafe, the 
refult of the original ftrudlure of tlie mind, and how 
far of effort and acquifition, it is probably impoffible 
for man to determine. We fee fome aftually great; 
but the caufe, and the means, have in a degree been, 
hitherto, in a ftate of uncertainty. 

In all cafes, in which this diftindion has been 
atchieved, whether inteUcdual, or moral, there muft 



to fuperior endowments and attainments, be fuper- 
added, by Providence, a happy field, in which they 
may be advantageoufly difplayed. Some object 
feen, and felt, by the mind, to be of fufncient im- 
portance to juftify high and ardent efforts, and to 
repay the labours, and the fnfFerings, which attend 
them, miift be prefented to the underftanding, and 
Jay hold on the heart. In this fituation, if ever, 
the man rifes above himfclf, feels his powers in a 
new manner, exerts talents of which he was before 
unconfcious, and virtues which had hitherto been 
dormant. Himfelf, as well as the world, is aflon- 
ifhed at what he is, and at what he does ; the fifh- 
erman is changed into an Apoftle j the* trader of 
Mecca becomes the founder of a religion, and an 
empire, embracing a fourth of mankind j and the 
4;leader of a gang of thieves afcends the throne of 
Perfia, and places beneath his feet the fcepter of 
Hindoftan. 

Among thofe occafions, which have lifted man 
above his ordinary fphere, none have difplayed with 
more fplendor, either talents, or virtues, than the 
revolutions of religion and empire. The conqueft 
of nations, and the fubverfion of governrnjcnts, form- 
ed, as well as exhibited, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, 
Alexander, Hannibal, Csfar, Ghengis, Timur-bec, 
Kouli Khan, Frederic, 2d. Hyder Ali, and various 
others of a fimilar character. To all thefe the pride 
of vidorv, the extenfion of conqueft, and die increafe 
of dominion, rofe in full view j and, with a fafci- 
liation wholly irrefiftible, prompted them to con- 
trive, to dare, and to attempt, beyond the limits of 
ordinary belief. When we contemplate thefe men, 
however, our admiration is always mingled with 
difguft ; and the few things in their charafters, which 
clainn elteem, are loft in the multitude of thofe> 

? lAahQiamti, % Nadir Kouli Khzn, 



9 

which force abhorrence. The luftre ITied around 
them is gloomy and difmal ; a glare of Avernus ; 
a " darknefs vifible ;" at which the eye gazes with 
a mixture of aftonifhment and horror. We ficken, 
while we read their exploits ; and blufh, that fuch 
fcourges of the world fhould have claimed a com- 
mon nature with ourfelves. 

But there have been happier occafions for call- 
ing into aftion, and into light, the fuperiour facul- 
ties of man. Empire and religion have, at times, 
changed for the better. Men have arifen, whom 
the world has not only admired, but revered, and 
loved J to whom applaufe was not the mere outcry 
of aftorHfhment, but the fiient and fteady teflimony 
of the underftanding, the cheerful and inftinftive 
tribute of the heart. When opprcflion was to be. 
refifted, government to be reformed, or the moral 
ftate of mankind to be renewed, the Ruler of the 
Univerfe has always fupplied the means, and the a- 
gents. Where to the human eye the whole face of 
things has worn an uniform level ; where every fa- 
mily was loft in infignificance, and every citizen. 
was a peafant, and a flave ; energy, afleep under 
the prefTure of weary circumftances, and talents, 
veiled by humble and hopelefsobfcurity, have been 
roufed into a<flion, and pufhed forward to diftindi- 
on and glory. 

Among the men, who, at fuch periods, have 
rifen to eminence, the Prophet, who is the fub- 
jed of my text, is unqueftionably the firft. In all 
the talents which enlarge the human mind and all 
the virtues which ennoble the human heart, in the 
amiablenefs of private life and the dignity of a ru- 
ler, in dangers hazarded and difficulties overcome, 
in fplendor of deftination and the enjoyment, and 
proofs, of divine complacency, he is clearly with- 
out a rival. Companions, perhaps fuperiors, he 



10 



may find in fome fingle walk of greatnefs ; but in 
the whole progrefs he is hitherto alone. 

For this preeminence he was plainly fitted by 
nature, and education, by the manner of his life, 
and the field of his employment. Born with a foul 
luperior to his kind, educated in the firft fchool of 
wifdom, trained to arms, and to policy, in the moft 
improved and powerful court in the world, and nur- 
tured in wifdom Hill more fublime in the quiet re- 
treats of Midian, he came forth to his great fcenc 
of public adlion, with ;the moft happy preparation 
both for fuccefs and glory. ■ God was about to ac- 
complifli a more impojtant revolution than had ever 
taken place, and had formed and finiflied the inftru- 
ment, which fo illuftrious a defign required. 

In whatever courfe of life, in whatever branch 
of character, we trace this great man, we find al- 
moft every thing to approve, and love, and fcarcely 
any thing to lament, or cenfure. When we fee him 
at the burning bufli, facrificing his diffidence to his 
duty, and refolving finally to attempt the firft great 
liberation of mankind; when we accompany him 
to the preience of Eharaoh, and hear him demand 
the releafe of the mifcrable vi6lims of his tyranny j 
when we behold him laying Egypt wafte, and fum- 
moning all the great engines of terror and deftruc- 
tion to overcome the obftinacy and wickednefs of 
he; monarch ; when we follow him to the Red Sea, 
and behold the waters divide at his command, 'to o- 
pen a pafiage for the millions of Ifrael ; and at the 
fame command return, to deluge the Egyptian hoft ; 
when we tr^e him through the wonders of Sinai, 
and of the v/ildernefs ; when we mark his fteady 
faith in God, his undoubting obedience to every 
divine command, his unexampled patriotifm, im- 
movable by ingratitude, rebellion, and infult, his 
cheerful communication of every ofiice of power and 



II 



profit to others, and his equally cheerful exclufion 
of his own defcendants from all places of diftin6lion ; 
when we confider his glorious integrity in adhering 
always to the duties of his office, unfeduced by 
power and fplendour, unmoved by national and fin- 
gular homage, imawed by fa6bion and oppofition, 
undaunted by danger and difficulty, and unaltered 
by provocation, obloquy, and diftrefs ; when we 
fee him meek beyond example, and patient and per- 
fevering, through forty years of declining life, in 
toil, hazard, and trial ; when we read in his writings 
the frank records of his own failings, and thofe of 
his family, friends, and nation, and the firft efforts 
of the hiftorian, the poet, the orator, and the law- 
giver j when we fte all the duties of felf government, 
benevolence, and piety, which he taught, exadlly 
difplayed in a life approximating to angelic virtue i 
when we behold him the deliverer of his nation, 
the reftorer of truth, the pillar of righteoufnefs, and 
the reformer of mankind i his whole character fhines 
with a radiance, like the fplendour, which his face 
derived from the Sun of Righteoufnefs, and on 
which the human eye could not endure to look. 
He is every where the fame glorious perfon ; tlie 
Man of God ; felefled from the race of Adam j 
called up into the mountain, that burned with fire ; 
afcending to meet his Creator j embofoming him- 
felf in the clouds of Sinai j walking cdmly onward 
through the thunders and lightnings ; and ferenely 
advancing to the immediate prefence, and converfe, 
of Jehovah. He is the greateft of all prophets ; 
the firft type of the Saviour ; condufted to Pifgah, 
nnclothed of mortal flefli, and entombed in the duft, 
by the immediate hand of the Moft High. ^ 

In a fphere, in fome refpeds lefs fplendid, but 
inlheeye ofwifdom and virtue fcarcely lefs honour- 
able, Paul, alfo, rofe to finifhed glory and great- 
nefs, as the enlightener, and reformer of mankind. 



12 

He was not, like Mofes, the emancipator of a na- 
tion, the head of a new church, or the founder of 
an empire ; but he was the mofl illuftrious follower 
of the Son of God, in eftablifhing Chriftianity, and 
in accompliOiing the falvation of men. No labours 
of man claim a higher moral diftin6lion, than his; 
no mind was ever fo expanded, or elevated, with 
the nobleft knowledge j no heart was probably ever 
warmed with more various, or more exalted virtue. 
No man ever ftruggled more firmly with dangers ; 
or rofe more glorioufly above difficulties; regarded 
friends with more afFe6lion, or enemies with more 
compaflion ; felt for himfelf lefs, or his fellow men 
more ; or attained a more fublime and unmingled 
piety, than Paul. To his labours mankind are, di- 
rectly, more indebted, than to thofe of any other 
man, for the moral wifdom, the virtue, the peace, 
and the happinefs, which they now enjoy. 

Such excellence we are not to look for among 
thole, who have received no fupernatural afTiftance ; 
yet, in fimilar revolutions of empire, fimilar eman- 
cipations of mankind, and fimilar renovations of the 
human chara6ter, both talents and virtues have ap- 
peared with high luftre and dignity. As proofs of 
this afTertion, many names of no fmall celebrity 
might be recited here, were it necelTary j but it will 
be fufficient for the prefent occafion, to mention 
three only, as diftinguilhed, in my view at leaft, a- 
bove others. Thefe are the firft, and fecond Guf- 
tavus, of Sweden, and Alfred the Great, of England. 
Were not his character clouded by fome ferious de- 
fers, I Ihouldadd to this lift Henry the fourth, of 
France. 

The firft Guftavus accomplilhed for Sweden 
whar the great man, whole character and death we 
are alTeilnbled to commemorate, accompliftied for 
us 5 a deliverance from political thraldom, and the 



eftablilTiment of political freedom and fafety. Illuf-, 
trioufly defcended, diftinguiflied in early yo^Jth for 
a feries of honourable aftions, and already the ob- 
jcft of governmental confidence and public hope, 
he was trepanned by the treachery of Chriftiern the 
third, of Denmark, one of the moft faithlefs, proud, 
and bloody tyrants, that ever difgraced the name 
of man ; was thrown into prifbn, and fecretly order- 
ed to be put to death ; folely becaufe his claims of 
power in Sweden were great, and his worth gave 
the faireft promife of feeing them fubltantiated. 
Relcafed from his dungeon by the good offices of a 
generous Daniili Nobleman, he efcaped through 
many dangers to his native country. There friend- 
lefs, forfaken, feen only to be fhunned, and known 
only to excite the dread of death for not betraying 
him to Chriftiern, he at length betook himfelf to the 
mountains of Dalecarlia j a province yet but half 
fubdued, and inhabited by a generous band of pea- 
fants, glowing with the unconquerable love of liber- 
ty. Here unknown but by diftant rumour, without 
authority, without a friend, without a fhilling, and 
hunted by the Ufurper and his creatures through 
every folitude and cell, he wrought in the mines, 
to procure his daily bread. But fuch a man cannot 
be long bbfcured. The peafants of Dalecarlia he 
found ftill brave and fincere, and boldly invited them 
to vi6tory and freedom. Charmed by his dignity 
and gracefulnefs of pcrfon and demeanour, fafcina- 
ted by his eloquence, and fecure under his condud: 
and bravery, thefe plain men followed him eagerly 
into the field of conflift ; to any other a field of def- 
pairj to him, of hope and triumph. At their head, 
he met the veterans of Denmark, only to defeat 
them i and fat down before their caftles, only to 
uke them. Within a fhort period, he overran, and 
redeemed the whole of his native country ; every 
where prefent j the animating, informing, dire ding 



principle of the army, and of the nation ; and by 
the unanimous voice of the Eftates was advanced to 
the throne. In this high ftation, enjoying every 
teftimony of public refpefl fhort of adoration, for 
his diftinguiflied wifdom, gallantry, patriotifm, and 
piety, he revived the agriculture, renewed the waft- 
ed cities and villages, reftored the commerce, re- 
eftablifhed and improved the juftice, fecured the li- 
berty, reformed the religion, and engrofled the hearts, 
of his grateful nation. " In all other refpedts," 
fays the Catholic* writer of his life, " except the in- 
trodu6tion of Lutheranifm into his kingdom, he de- 
fcrves the praife and admiration of pofterity." 

The fecond Guftavus, having, from the age of i8, 
reigned in Sweden, with fingular wifdom, equity, 
and glory, for twenty years, appeared in Germany, 
1 63 1, in the illuftrious character of Defender of the 
Proteftant religion, againft the laft great efforts of 
the Catholics, in that country, for its dcftru6tion j 
and glorioufly loft his life in eftablilhing the caufe, 
for which he died. He is thus defcribcdby a ref- 
peftable modern hiftorian.§ 

" No piince, ancient or modern, feems to have 
poflcfled in fo eminent a degree, as Guftavus Adol- 
phus, the qualities of the hero, the ftatefman, and 
the commander ; that intuitive genius which con- 
ceives, that wifdom which plans, and that happy 
combination of courage and condudt which gives 
fuccefs to an enterprife. Nor was the military pro- 
grefs of any leader equally rapid, under circumftan- 
ces equally difficult j with an inferiour force, a- 
gainft warlike nations, and difciplined troops, com- 
manded by able and experienced generals." 

" But Guftavus had other qualities befidc th^^Te 

• Verjot. § Ruflell. 



»5 

of a military and political kind. He was a pious 
Chriftian, a warm friend, a tender hufband, a duti- 
ful fon, an affeftionate father. The fentiments fuit- 
ed to all thefe fofter chara6ters are admirably difplay- 
ed in a letter from him to *Oxenftiern, written a few 
days before the battle of Lutzen, in which he loft 
his life." In this letter is the following memorable 
paflage. 

" Confider me as a man, the guardian of a kingdom, 
who has ftruggled with difficulties, and pafTed thro* 
them with reputation, by the prote6tion and mercy 
of heaven J as a man, who loved and honoured his 
relations, and who neglefted life, riches, and happy 
days, for the prefervation and glory of his country, 
and faithful fubjefts ; cxpedling no other recom- 
penfe, than to be declared the prince, who ful- 
filled the duties of that ftation, which Providence 
had afligned him in the world." 

" The merit of Alfred (fays Hume) both In 
public and private life, may with advantage be fet 
in oppofition to that of any monarch or citizen, 
which the annals of any age or rtaticn can prefent to 
us. He feems indeed to be the model of that per- 
feft chara6ter, which, under the denomination of a 
fage or wife man, philofophers have been fond of 
delineating, rather as a fiction of their imagination, 
than in hopes of ever feeing it really exifting ; fo hap- 
pily were all his virtues tempered together ; fojuft- 
ly were they blended ; and fo powerfully did each 
prevent the other from exceeding its proper boun- 
daries ! He knew how to reconcile the moft enter- 
prifing fpirit with the cooleft moderation ; the mofl 
obftinate perfeverance with the eafieft flexibility ; 
the moft fevere juftice with the gentleft lenity ; the 
greateft vigour in command with the moft perfect 

* His MInifter. 



i6 

affability of deportment ; the highieft capacity and 
inclination for fcience with the moll fhining talents 
for action ;" * and, let me add, the warmell devo- 
tion and piety with the utmoft candour and liberali- 
ty. " His civil and military virtues are almoft 
equally the objedls of our admiration ; excepting 
only; that the former, being more rare among prin- 
ces, as well as more ufeful, feem chiefly to chal- 
lenge our applaufe." 

As a fourth in this dignified groupe, may, with 
the fuUeft confidence, be placed the hero, ftatefman, 
and father, of our own country. I have introduced 
a fummary accountofthefe great men into this dif- 
courfe, that by comparing his charafler with theirs, 
and feeing them ftand fide by fide, my audience may 
be enabled to form a more accurate eflimate of his 
worth. Greatnefs is a term wholly comparative; 
its true import is, therefore, to be feen by compari- 
Ibn only. On the one hand, fuperiority to the com- 
mon mafs, and on the other approximation, equali- 
ty, or eminence, with rcfpe6h to fuch as have been 
thus fuperior, is all that is intended by the word. 
As Mofes and Paul'were the greateft hum.an cha- 
ra6lers among fuch as have been fupernaturally af- 
fifted ; and the three princes, whom I have here 
charafterized, were, if I miftake not, the firft a- 
mong thofe, who have become great by means mere- 
ly natural j to fuftain a fair refemblance to thefe men 
muft be highly honourable ; to be near them, an 
enviable diftinflion ; to equal them, the crown of 
the mofl exalted ambition. 

As the fphere of Paul's exertions was peculiar, 
he muft of courfe be pafTed by in fuch a defign. 
As Mofes was infpired, and fuftained by a peculiar 
«gency of the Moft High, the comparifon with him 

• See N»te A. 



17 

muft in many relpedls be unfairly inftituted. Yef a 
ftrong refemblance between him and the hero of our 
own country is fo evident, that the recital of it is 
become almoft proverbial. The occafions, the ta- 
lents> the virtues, the divine interpofitions, and the 
iflue, were fo fimilar, as to flrike the mod undifcri- 
minating eye, and to find an eafy acknowledgment 
from every tongue. Particularly, the preeminence 
of Mofes to all the great men in Ifrael, marked fo 
ftrongly in the text, and the like diftindion juftly 
claimed by the American leader, not only over his 
countrymen, but over all men of the prefent age, 
form a mofl honourable ground of comparifon. 

That General Wafhington is, with propriety, 
introduced as a proper companion to the three il- 
luflrious princes, whom I have mentioned above, as 
a companion, whom, on equal terms, they may be 
fairly fuppofed cheerfully to welcome to their num- 
ber and rank, will, I truft, appear from a juft ac- 
count of his charafter. 

There arc two methods, in which fuch an ac- 
count may be advantageouily given j a recital of 
what he has done, and an exhibition of the attri- 
butes which he manifeftcd. 

In very early life, he began to be, in a fenfe pro- 
phetically, difliinguilhed for wifdom and conduct 
fuperior to his years ; and executed fo ably feveral 
important commiflions, which he received from the 
legiflature of Virginia, as to fecure their confidence, 
and command the applaufe of the whole country. 
Such trufts have been rarely committed to fo youno; 
a man, and have probably been never better lodged 
in the hands of any man. That in the exifting cir- 
cumftances fuccefs was, in one of the cafes, comple- 
fcly atchievedi that, in a fecondjfo little difafter enfu- 

C 



i8 

ed i and that, in a third, total ruin was prevented j is 
plainly and chiefly to be attributed to the fl^ill and 
firmnelsofa youth between nineteen and twenty- 
three,a61:ing in the laft cafe only in a voluntary office. 

After acquiring, both in public and private 
life, the univerfal eileem, through the following fea- 
Ibn of peace, he was chofen, in the year 1774, one 
of the Reprcfentatives in the firft Congrefs. Here 
his former reputation, and the proofs which he dai- 
ly gave of fuperiour wifdom and worth, induced that 
body to choofe him, in 1775, commander in chief 
of the American armies, employed to refift the hof- 
tilities of Great-Britain. This hazardous office he 
accepted with a *mode(ly, which always accompa- 
nies and announces merit, and with a firmnefs of 
decifion, which no future embarraffment could 
move. Under a government juft formed, and 
marked with infantine weaknefs ; in a country com- 
pofed of feparate and deranged fovereignties ; amidil 
a people now firft ferioufly connected ; at the head 
of armies form.ed of mere militia, a band of fcouts 
and yet to be made foldiers, and of officers ignorant 
of the dilcipline which they were to teach, and of 
the movements which they were to guide ; ftrangers, 
rivals, and fometimes enemies ; without ammunition, 
arms, clothes, or money ; enlifted for a fummer ; 
and plunged by inexperience into all the expofures, 
difcouragements, difeafes, and miferies, ofunpro-. 
vided military life ; he became the body of union 
to the people, and to the foidiery, guided the one 
to wifdom, and led the other to victory. In his own 
lettersjj not lefs iiluftrious commentaries than thofe 
of C^far, and on a more glorious war, he is feen, 
through the veil of his modefty, to have been the 
pillar, on which the country fufpended itfelf j the 

* or? Note B. X Sec Note C. • 



J9 

foul, by which the army was formed, quickened, 
and actuated. In the midft of the immenfe and mo- 
mentous concerns, lying alway on his mind, no 
want, nor its lupply ; no fufFcring, nor its rehef -, 
no evil, nor its remedy; no improvement in the 
affairs of the army, or the country, nor ti\e means 
by which it might be bell accomplilhed ; eluded his 
attention. Fie is there proved, and without intend- 
ing it, to have been the fource of almoft every im- 
portant meafure, the origin of the great mals of me- 
liorations, in our fyftem. 

In this war, for which we were fo unfurnifhed, 
as to render it, in the eye of fober judgment, more 
like Quixotifm than juftifiable enterprile, his cauti- 
ous wifdom, more necefTary, more varied, and 
more extraordinary, than that of the celebrated Ro- 
man, juftly gained him, abroad, as well as at, home, 
the title of the Am.erican Fabius. To the minds of 
unfkilful, ardent, and partial judges, however, this 
wifdom, without which we now clearly fee our 
country mufl" have beenlofV, appeared to refult from 
imbecility and fear. So far did this opinion, toge- 
ther with fome concurring circumftanceSi operate, 
as to engender a ferious attempt to raife a foreigner, 
in every refpeft his inferiour, to the fupreirie com- 
mand. Had not this childifh and wretched at- 
tempt been ably and fi:renuouny oppofed, had not 
the great body of officers of diilin6tion folemnly 
pledged themfelves to each other never to ferve, while 
he lived, under any other commander, there is rea- 
fon to fear, that it would have fuccccded. Of this 
glaring attempt againfl him his mind, fuperior alike 
to favour and to frowns, took no other notice, 
than what has been buried in filence. Satisfied with 
himfclf, and ftrong in the attachm.ent of thofe whom 
he commanded, he rofe above evtry actack, (Xaix.-- 
ger, and enemy. 



20 

A country, an army, fituated as were ours, car- 
ried misfortune in their face. The country was un- 
ikilled and unfurniilied -, and its councils, compofed 
indeed of great and good men, were yet in no de- 
gree verfed in the bufinefs, which they were now 
called to dire6l. The army was formed of brave 
and hardy foldiers, and of gallant and fenfible offi- 
cers J but it was gathered, and difperfed, in a day ; 
and, when moft neceflary, and prefented with the 
fairell opportunities of fuccefsful enterprife, had dif- 
appeared. Never did he appear greater, than in 
thefe feafons of trial and deprelTion. No enterprifes 
of his fhine with more luftre, than his decampment 
from *JLong-Ifland, his retreat from General Howe 
through New-Jerfey, his defcent upon Trenton, f 
his elufion of Lord Cornwallis at Trenton, his con- 
fequent march through New-Jerfey, in which he 
defeated the Britifh corps at Princeton, and the ad- 
drefs, with which he preierved the appearance of a 
confiderable force at Morriftown, where, through 
the winter, he had only eleven or twelve hundred 
men, and thefe under a fucceflive inosculation, to re- 
fifl the whole Britifli army. 

But his military life had alfo its feafons of prolpe- 
rity. His fuccefles were, however, almoft always 
obtained at the head of a force, inferior to that of 
his enemy, and of confequence were, in an eminent 
degree, the refult of his own efforts. Like the il- 
luftrious men, to whom I have compared him, he 
had the happinefs of ending the great controverfy, 
in which he had engaged, and in which his country 
was the flake, with a final and complete triumph. 
All that, for which he fought, and that thegreatefl 
prize, which excites human contention, he gained ; 
and lived long enough to reap a glorious reward of 

* See Note D. f See Note E. 



2! 

his labours in the peace and fafety, the veneration 
and bleffings, of his countrymen. 

His political, was not lefs honorable than his mi- 
litary, career. When, under the weaknefs and in- 
efficiency of the Confederation, thefe States were 
falling afunder, and tumbling into anarchy and ruin, 
he contributed, at the head of the General Conven- 
tion, more, by his wifdom, virtue and influence, 
than any other man, to the final adoption of the Fe- 
deral Conftitution j and thus faved his country a 
fecond time. Twice fummoned by the unanimous 
voice of the nation to the Prefidency of the General 
Government, he there, in a feries of wile, firm, and 
generous meafures, ftepped often between the State 
and deftruftion. His Proclamation of Neutrality, 
particularly, was the hinge, on which, at that time, 
the whole well being of our country turned. No 
public meafure was ever more neceflary, more happi- 
ly timed, or more prudently condudted. To that 
meafure is it probably owing, that we are allowed 
thus peaceably to aflemble, this day, in honour to 
his memory. 

The luftre of all his military and political aftions, 
and the glory of his whole charadler, apparently in- 
capable of addition, he has neverthelefs enhanced 
by two fingular traits of diftinftion ; his refufal to 
accept of a compenfation for his fervices j and his 
repeated, voluntary refignation of his high offices, 
whilflin the entire pofleffion of univerfal veneration, 
and perfeftly afTured of the unanimous public fuf- 
frage. I do not here intend, that great men ought 
of courfe to decline pecuniary rewards ; or to retire, 
in all circumftances, from public to private life. 
It could not have been the duty of either of the prin- 
ces, whofe charafter I have given. But no duty 
forbade him to do both j and in doing both he ha^ 



S2 

fecured a glory, which is fingular. Nothing could 
have fo difcovered his felfpolTefrion, evinced his f«- 
periority to ambition, or proved his mind to be the 
refidence of patriotifm and principle. 

In private life he was the fame dignified charafl- 
er. AH his affairs v/ere fuperintended by himfelf, 
and were of courfe always in exa6t order and profper- 
pus thrift. To his neighbours, to the public, to all 
men, he was juft, generous, and humane ; to the * 
poor a fteady, and conlpicuous benefaftor j and to 
his family whatever is found in the fulled and mofl a- 
miable difcharge of the domeftic duties. 

Through the plantation, on which he refided, 
ran a ftream, flored with fifh. This filhery two 
days in the week he made, together with his own 
boats and nets, the property of the furrounding 
poor J and frequently dire61:ed his fervants to aid 
them in taking and curing their booty. 

In the courfe of the war, he wrote, as I have been 
well informed, to his friends in Virginia, a propofal 
to free his fervants, Ihould the Legiflature think it 
confident with the general welfare. This plan he 
has realized in his will ; and the public are already 
informed, that it will be fpeedily executed by his 
moft refpedtable Executrix. 

After the furrender of Yorktown, he returned, 
at the end ot eight years abfence, to vifit his family. 
His fervants had voluntarily arranged themfelves in 
two lines, from his manfion houfe to the creek which 
runs before the door. When he came in figlit, 
thefe humble and aiFeftionate domeftics fent up a 
Ihout of joy, and uttered an extravagance of tranf- 
port J the women by fhrieking, beating their breafts, 
and rending their hair ; and the men by cries and 
tears, and ail tlie gefticulations, with v/hich nature. 

See Note F. 



^3 

in iininformed and iinpolifhed fociety, gives vent to 
exceflive paffion. When he had crolFed the creek, 
lie delayed his progrefs to his beloved abode, to 
fhake all the adults by the hand, and to fpeak ten- 
derly and affetflionately to the children. *' Never,'* 
faid the gentleman, from whom I received this in- 
formation, *^ was I fo delightfully affedted, except 
at the furrender of Yorktown j and then, only be- 
caufe I confidered" the independence of my country 
as fecured." 

On the attributes, manifefted by this great min> 
in his condufl, I beg leave to make the following 
obfervations. 

General Washington was great, not by means 
of that brilliancy of mind, often appropriately term- 
ed genius, and ufually coveted for ourfelves, and 
our children j and almoft as ufually attended with 
qualities, which preclude wifdom, and depreciate 
or forbid worth; but by a conftitutional charafter 
nore happily formed. His mind was indeed inven- 
ive, and full of refources ; but its energy appears 
to have been originally directed to that which is* 
praflical and ufeful, and not to that which is fhewy 
and fpecious. His judgment was clear and intui-. 
tive beyond that of moft who have lived, and feem- 
ed inftindlively to difcern the proper anfwer to the 
celebrated Roman queftion ; * Cui bono erit ? To 
this his inceffant attention, and unwearied obferva- 
tion, which nothing, whether great or minute, efca- 
ped, doubtlefs contributed in a high degree. What 
he obferved he treafured up, and thu3 added daily 
to his flock of ufeful knowledge. Hence, although 
his early education was in a degree confined, his 
mind became pofleiTed of extenfive, various, and ex- 
a6b information. Perhaps there never was a mind, 

* What good purpofs will it anfwer f 



24 

ori which theoretical fpeculations had lefs influence, 
and the decifions of common fenfe more. 

At the fame time, no man ever more earneftly 
or iiniformly fought advice, or regarded it, when 
given, with more critical attention. The opinions 
of friends and enemies, of thofe who abetted, and 
of thofe who oppofed, his own fyftem, he explored 
and fecured alike. His own opinions, alfo, he fub- 
mitted to his proper counfellours, and often to oth-- 
ers ; with a demand, that they fhould be fifted, and 
expofed, without any tendernefs to them becaufe 
they were his ; infilling, that they fhould be confi- 
dered as opinions merely, and, as fuch, fhould be 
fubjefted to thcfreeil and moil fevere invefhigation. 

When any meafure of importance was to be afted 
on, he delayed the formation of his judgment until 
the laft moment ; that he might fecure to himfelf, 
alway, the benefit of every hint, opinion, and cir- 
cumftance, which might contribute either to con- 
firm, or change, his decifion. Hence, probably, 
it in a great meafure arofe, that he was fo rarely 
committed ; and that his decifions have fo rarely 
produced regret, and have been fo clearly juftified 
both by their confequences and the judgment of 
mankind. 

With this preparation, he formed a judgment 
finally and wholly his own ; and although no man 
was ever more anxious before a meafure was adop- 
ted, probably no man was ever lefs anxious after- 
ward. He had done his duty, and left the iffue to 
Providence. 

To all this condufb his high independence of 
mind greatly contributed. By this I intend a fpi- 
rit, which dares to do its duty, againll friends and 



a5 

enemies, and in profperous and adverfe circumftan-^ 
ces, alike ; and which, when it has done its duty, 
isregardlefs of opinions and confequences. 

Nor was he lefs indebted to his peculiar * firm- 
nefs. He not only dared to ad in this manner, 
but uniformly fuftained the fame tone of thought 
and feeling, fuch, as he was at the decifion, he ever 
after continued to be ; and all men defpaired of ope- 
rating on him unlefs through the medium of con- 
vidion. The fame unchanging Ipirit fupported 
him through every part of his aftonifhing trials, du- 
ring the war ; and exhibited him as exa<5lly the 
fame man after a defeat, as after a vidlory j neither 
elated nor deprefled, but always grave, ferene, and 
prepared for the event. 

From other great men he was diftingullhed by an 
exemption from favouritifm. No man ever fo en- 
grofled his attachment, as to be fafe, for a moment, 
from defei^ved reproof, or cenfure j nor was any 
man ever fo difrelifhed by him, as, on that account, 
to fail of receiving from him whatever applaule, or 
fervices, his merit could claim. Hence his friends 
feared, and his enemies rcfpefted him. 

His moderation and felf government were fuch 
that he was always in his own power, and never jn 
the power of any other pcrfon. Whatever pafllons 
he felt, they rarely appeared. His condufb, opini- 
ons, and life, wore unufually the character of mere 
intelled. Hence he was never found unguarded, 
or embarrafled ; but was always at full liberty to do 
that, and that only, which expediency and duty de- 
manded. A ftriking inftance of this trait in his 
eharaiSler is feen in the well known faft -, that he ijc* 

D 

* See Note Q. 



26 

yer exculpated hiinfelf from any charge, nof replied 
"to any calumny. His accufers, for fuch he had, 
had opportunity to make the mod of their accufa- 
tions ; his calumniators, if their confciences permit- 
ted, to, fleep in peace. 

His juftice was exa£l, but tempered with the ut- 
moft humanity, * which the' occafion would fuffcr. 
His truth no fober man, who knew him, probably 
ever doubted. Watchful againft his own expofures 
to error, he was rarely found erring j jealous of do- 
ing injuftice, if he has done injuftice, it is yet, 1 be- 
lieve, unrecorded. 

* ' ''His refervednefs has been at times cenfured. To 
me it appears to have been an important and necef- 
fary chara6teriftic of a perfon fituated as he was. 
In familiar life a communicative difpofition is gene- 
rally pleafing, and often ufefulj in his high ftations 

' it would have been dangerous. One unguarded or 
ambiguous expreffion might have produced evils, the 

■ remedy of which would have been beyond even his 
own power. No fuch expreflion is recorded of him. 

His pun6tuality was extreme. He rofe always 
with the dawn ; he dined at a given minute ; he 
attended evfery appointment at the moment. Hence 
his bufmefs public and private was always done at 
the proper time, and always beforehand. 

\ -";No'pierlbn appears to hiVe had a higher fenle of 
tdecorum, and univerfal pi-opriety. The eye, fol- 
lowing his public and private life, traces an unex- 
ceptionable propriety, an exa6t decorum, in every 
aftion ; in every word ; in his demeanour to men of 
every clafs ; in his public communications ; in his 
convivial entertainments j in his letters j and in his 

* Stc Note H. 



familiar converfanon .; from which bluntncfs, fiatte-i 
ry, witticifm, indelicacy, negligcnpe,, paflipn,, and 
overadion, were alike excluded, i. >,. ,.,,,., ,„ , /I 

From thefe things happily combmed,"al ways' 
ftciiy and feen always in their native ..light, without 
art, or affedtation, it arofe, that,, wherever hp ap? 
pcared, an inftinftive awe and veneratiori.; attended 
him on the.partpf all men. Every man,, how£ver 
great in his own opinion, or in reality, llirunkin his 
prefence, and became confcious. of an inferiority, 
which he never felt before. Whilii he encouraged 
every man, particularly every ftranger, and peculi^ 
arly, every diffident man, .and raifed him to felf-pof- 
felTion, no fobcr perfon, however fecure . he . might; 
think himfclf of his efteem, ever prefum.ed to. df am 
too near him. ' 

With refped to his religious charadler there have 
been different opinions, r No one will be furprifed at 
this, who refleds, that this is a fubjeclj' about which, 
in all circumftances not involving infpired teftim.ony, 
doubts may and will exift. The evidence concern- 
ing it muft of courfe arife from an induction of par- 
ticulars. Some will induce more of thele particu- 
lars, and others fewer ; fome will reft on one clafs, 
or coIle<5tion, others on another ; and fome will give 
more, and others lefs, weight to thofe which are in- 
duced ; according to their feveral modes, andftand- 
ards, of judging. The queftion in this, apd all o- 
ther cafes, muft be finally determined before another 
tribunal, than that of human judgment, ; an.^ro that 
tribunal it muft ultimately be left. r,br,,iiiy own. 
part, I have confidered his numeix)us ap(3 .uhi/ornV 
public and moft folemn declarations of his high ve- 
neration for religipn, his, exemplary. a^nd^edifvilng at- 
tention to public worfliip, and his Conftancy' in fe-- 
cj;et devotion, as ' proofs, fufficient to fati^fy -every 



a8 

perfon, willing to be fatisfied. I fhall only add, 
that if he was not a Chriftian, he was more like one, 
than any man of the fame defcription, whofe life has 
been hitherto recorded. 

As a warrior, his merit has, I believe, been fully 
and readily acknowledged ; yet I have doubted 
whether it has always been juftly eftimated. His 
military greatnefs lay not principally in defperate 
fallies of courage ; in the daring and brilliant ex- 
ploits of a par tifan : Thefc would have ill fuited his 
ftation, and moft probably have ruined his caufe 
and country. It confifted in the formation ofexten- 
five and mafterly * plans ; effectual preparations, 
the cautious prevention of great evils, and the watch- 
ful feizurc of every advantage; in combining hete- 
rogeneous materials into one military body, produ- 
cing a fyftem of military and political meafures, 
concentering univerfal confidence, and difFufing an 
jl influence next to magical ; in comprehending a 
great fcheme of war, purfuing a regular fyftem of 
acquiring ftrength for his country, and wearing out 
the ftrength of his enemies. To his conduft, both 
military and political, may, with exadt propriety, 
be applied the obfervation, which has been often 
made concerning his courage ; that in the moft ha- 
zardous fituations no man ever faw his countenance 
change. 

Perhaps, I Ihall be thought to have dwelt too 
long, and too minutely, on his character. I hope 
I fhall be juftified, partially at leaft, when it is re- 
membered, that I have been feizing the beft oppor- 
tunity, which I fhall ever enjoy, of teaching, in the 
moft affefting manner in my power, the youths 
eommitted to my inftrudion, and forming a partof 

• See Npte I. il See Note J. 



«9 

this audience, the way to become great, refpedablc, 
and ufeful. 

Such, my friends and fellow citizens, was the 
man, whofe death we are aflembled to lament, and. 
v^hofe worth we commemorate. Like the illuftri- 
ous fubjedt of my text heftands alone in his nati-^ 
on. Like him he was great in the Iplendor of de- 
lignation, in wifdom, in effort, in fucccfs, in the im- 
portance of his talents, virtues and labours, to the 
nation over whom he prefided in war and peace ; 
in the eftimation, the love, and the tears, of his 
country. On this refemblance I have dwelt lefs, 
becaufe I fuppofe others have dwelt more ; yet I can- 
not forbear to add, that in the death of thefe diftin- 
guiflied men there is a fimilarity not a little ftriking. 
Both died in advanced years, but without any previ- 
ous decay of faculties, or glory ; both left their ref- 
pe6tive nations, not indeed eftablilhed, but fo far 
advanced, as not abfolutely to demand a continuance 
of their fuperintendency ; and both were honored 
by a national and fpontaneous mourning, as the laft 
tribute of public veneration. Miraculous fupport 
our nation could not hope for under any leader j but 
the fignal interpofitions of Heaven in our behalf, 
while under his guidance, ought never to be. for- 
gotten. 

To Americans his name will be ever dear ; a fa- 
vour of fweet incenfe, defcending to every fucceed- 
ing generation. The things, which he has done, are 
too great, too interefting, ever to be forgotten. 
Every obietSt which we fee, every employment in 
which we are engaged, every comfort which we en- 
joy, reminds us daily of his character. The general 
peace, liberty, religion, fafety, and profperioy, ftrong- 
ly imprefs, in every place, what he has done, fuffer- 
€d, and atchieved. When a Legiflature aficmbks 



3° 

to enaft laws ; when Courts meet to diftribute jiif- 
tice ; when Congregations gather to worlhip God ; 
they naturally, and almoft neceffarily, fay "To 
Wafhington it is owing, under God, that we are 
here." The farmer purfuing his plough in peace, the 
mechanic fdlowing the bufinefs of his fhop in fafety, 
afcribes the privilege to Wafhington. The houfe 
which, uninvaded, fhelters us from the ftorm, the 
cheerful firefide furrounded by our little ones, the 
table fpread in quiet with the bounties of Providence, 
the bed on which we repofe in undifturbed fecurity, 
utters, in filent but exprefTive language, the memo- 
ry, and the praife, of Wafhington. Every fhip 
bears the fruits of his labours on its wings, and ex- 
ultingly fpreads its ftreamers to his honour.- The 
ftudent meets hirti in the ftill and peaceful walk j 
the traveller fees him in all the profperous and fmil- 
ing fcenes of his journey ; and our whole country 
in her thrift, order, fafety, and morals, bears, infcri- 
bed in funbeams, throughout her hills and her plains, 
the name and the glory of Wafhington. 

From a fubjeft fo fingular, andfo edifying, it is 
not eafy to fail of gaining ufeful praftical inftrudli- 
on. Particularly, the ineilimable benefits which we 
have derived from the efforts of this great man, 
cannot but prompt every ingenuous mind to remem- 
ber, with unceafing gratitude, the goodnefs of God 
in bellowing upon us fuch a blefling ; God, who 
formed and furnilhed him for labours fo ufeful, and 
for a lifefo glorious. In what a manner muft the 
late war have clofed, had the fupreme command of 
our armies fallen to a wealc or unprincipled man ? 
What would have been its ilTue, had the powerful 
attempt to difplace him, and to fubftirute a foreigner, 
fucceeded ? Think, I befeech you, of the uniform 
condition of a conquered nation ; a nation too, con- 
fidcred as rebels by their conquerors. Think what 



. 3 J 

it would have been t6 have had your armies betray- 
ed, your lands ravaged, your houTes burnt, your 
beft citizens brought to the halter, your wives and 
daughters dillionoured, and your children houfelefs, 
naked, and famifhed. Think of the long and hope- 
lefs period, through which the broken fpirit, the ru- 
ined morals, the wide-fprcad ignorance, and the loft 
energy, of your country would have peroetuatcd 
your miferics, and prevented your pofterityrrom e- 
merging again to the charader of men, and the 
bleffings of freemen. 

To thele wretched fcenes contraft your prefenc 
freedom, peace, fafety, glory, and felicity. To 
whom are they owing ? The heart fpontaneoufly an- 
fwers, " Firft to God, and next to Wafhington." I 
mean not to detra6t from the wifdom, bravery, or 
worth, of his generous companions in the council, 
and in the field. Cheerfully do I render to them 
the illuftrious honours, which they have merited, 
and won j and heartily do I rejoice to fee thofe, who 
ftill live^ fuftaining and increafing, in fo many in- 
ftances, the high eftimation, which they had fo am- 
ply deferved of their country. But in all that I have 
faid of their illuftrious Chief they will be the firft to 
unite, becaufe they have known him more intimate- 
ly than others. With them will all their country- 
men inftinftively accord j for his labours have beenfo 
great, fo good, fo endearing, that they cannot but be 
feated in every American heart. May our grati- 
tude to the Author always accompany, and totally 
tranfcend, our admiration of the inftrument ; let it, 
jnlpirit every reflexion, and mingle with every joy. 

By him, alfo, are our rulers, at the prefent and 
at every future period, taught how to rule. The 
fame condufl will ever produce fubftantially the 
fame effV^ls i the fame public well being, the fame 



gbry, the fame veneration. To be wife and good j 
to forget, or reftrain, the dictates of paffion, and o- 
bey thole of duty ; to leek fingly the public wel- 
fare, and lofe in it perfonal gratification ; to reflft 
calmly and firmly the pafllons, and purfue only the 
interefts, of a nation, is the great fecret of ruling 
well. When thefe things are exhibited in the ftrong 
light of example, and crowned with fuccefs and ho- 
nor, they are taught in a manner beyond meafure 
more impreflive, than can be found in rules and ar- 
guments. Here they are already tried, and pro- 
ved. Here they are feen furrounded by all their 
delightful attendants, and followed by all their hap- 
py confequences. The conviction produced is com- 
plete, the imprclTion fupreme. From this great ex- 
ample all rulers may learn wifdom, and our rulers 
more than any other. They are rulers of the very 
people, who loved and reverenced him, and who 
will, of courfe, love and reverence them, {o far as 
they tread in his footfteps. They, alfo, know and 
feel his character, and fuccefs, more than is poffible 
for others. Wi(dom, therefore, and duty demand 
of them, and in a peculiar degree, ftudioufly to co- 
py fo glorious a pattern. 

The youths, alfo, of our country, who wiih to 
l^ecome great, ufeful and honourable, will here find 
tl.ie befb diredlions, and the moft powerful incite- 
n\ ents. To be great, ufeful, and honourable, they 
mi ift refemble him. The very adions, which he 
pcjr. formed, they may indeed not be called to per- 
form n ; the fufFerings, which he underwent, they 
may not be obliged to undergo; but the attributes, 
whic. h he pofTefTed and displayed, mult, in a good 
degre e> ibe poiTelled and difplaycd by th.cm alio. 

,\j Le'i r them particularly remember, that greatnefs 
tff not I he r&fulc of mer§ chance, or genius ; ihi 



r 1!' 



IS not the flafli of brilliancy, nor the defperate fally 
of ambition ; that it is, on the contrary, the connbi- 
ned refult of ilrong mental endowments, vigorous 
cultivation, honourable defign, and wife diredtion. 
It is not the glare of a rneteor ; glittering, dazzling, 
confuming, and vanifiiing ; but the fteady and exal- 
ted fplendour of the fun ; afplendour which, while 
it fhines with preeminent brightnefs, warms alfo, 
enlivens, adorrre, improves, and perfects, the obje6ts, 
on which it fliines : glorious indeed by its luftre ; 
but dill more glorious in the ufeful effects pro- 
duced by its power. Of this great truth the tran- 
fcendant example before us is a moft dignified ex- 
hibition. Let them imitate, therefore, the inceflant 
attention, the exa6t obfervation, the unwearied in- 
duftry, the fcrupulous regard to advice, the (lownefs 
of decifion, the cautious prudence, the nice punctu- 
ality, the ftrift propriety,the independence of thought 
and feeling, the unwavering firmnefs, the unbiaf- 
fed impartiality, the fleady moderation, the exaft 
juftice, the unveering truth, the univerfal humanity, 
and the high veneration for religion, and for God, 
always manifefted by this great man. Thus will 
future Wafhingtons arife to blefs our happy coijntry. 

As a nation we may derive from him many kinds 
of inflru6lion and profit. This occafion will, howe- 
ver, allow me to infift on one only : The fleady 
purfuit of that policy, which he fo uniformly and 
luccefsfully purfued, and has fo forcibly recommend- 
ed. In his farewell to the country which he fo lov- 
ed and defended, we have his laft, and to us his dy- 
ing words ; a mofl imprelTive recommendation of the 
beft means of our national welfare ; the fum of all the 
political wifdom, which he had imbibed from his 
vaft experience ; the fubftance of that policy, by 
which alone our fafety and happinefs can be enfur- 
cd. In it we are molt affc6ling]y taught topreferve 

E 



34 

our. union j to defpife trifling difcriminations ; to 
reverence our conftitution j to rejeft watchfully all 
ailbciations and faftions, formed to oppofe it; to 
preferve a well balanced adminiftration ; to encou- 
rage literary inftitutions ; to promote, as of primary 
importance, morality and religion ; to cherifh public 
credit ; to obferve juftice and good faith towards 
all nations ; to cultivate 'harmony and peace with 
all ; to indulge antipathies and favouritifiri towards 
none ; to refift, as dangerous and deadly, all foreign 
iniiuence ; to conne6t ourfelvesj politically, as little 
as poflible j and to hold, as much as maybe, a ftridt 
and perpetual neutrality towards powers at war. 
Here all the national interefls of America are con- 
lulted ; here all its political wifdom is fummed up 
in a fingle fheet. Nothing can be added, nothing 
without injury taken away. How greatly are thefe 
precepts recommended by the charader of their 
author, and by the fuccefs v/ith which they have 
been followed in pradice. How ftrongly are they 
enforced by his labours for our country, by the glo- 
ry which he attained while fteadily purfuing them, 
and by the manner, and the time, in which they 
were delivered. Happy, beyond meafure, is it for 
thefe States, that he purfued them fo long ; that 
they have been fo clofely followed by his able and 
virtuous fuccelTor ; that they are now the only poli- 
cy of our government, and the efficient policy of our 
country. Happy, beyond meafure, will it be, if 
our nation Ihould henceforth make them its great 
political creed, and the only rule of its political 
meafures, at home, and abroad. Fadlion, party, 
difiention, will then ceafe ; murmurs be loft in peace 
and profperity ; intrigues be rendered infamous and 
hopelefs ; foreign influence no more lift up its fnaky 
head ; the danger of invafion vanifh j the govern- 
ment our country totter no more ; the great politi- 
cal problem, Whether a free and happy Republic 
can be durable, be finally and propitioufly folved -, 



JL 

and Americans find lefs reafon to lament, that 
Wafhington is dead ; becaufe they will Hill lee him 
live in the policy and glory, the fiifety and peace, 
the vii'tue and felicity, of his beloved country. 



NOTES. 

• 
A. 

It ig a curitfus faft, that Hume, although he is obliged 
to recite the extraordinary piety of Alfred, yet totally ouiits 
the mention of it in his paLegyric on his charadler. 

B. 

For fpeciniens of the pecuhar modefiy of General WaHi- 
higton fee his written acceptance of the chief command of 
the army, and his acceptance of the Prcfidency. Obferve, 
alfo, the faft ; that he never made his great adlions any 
part of the fubjeft of his converfation. 

C- 

There have been many doubts concerning the charafter 
of General Walhington, as a writer. Various perfona 
have denied, that he was at all, or in any refpeftabie de- 
gree, the author of the feveral compofitions, which are 
prefented to the public, as his. It may be a fatisfaftion to 
my readers to be informed, that the addreis to the oiiicers of 
the army in reply to the letters of iV\ajor Armftrong, was 
penned by his own hand^ and never feen by any perfon, 
until after it was publicly delivered. The originals of his 
anfwers, alfo, to the addrefies prefented to him, in hislall 
tour through the Eaflern States, are now on file (as I am 
informed from high authority) in his own hand. 

When he began to read tlie aboveraeutioned addrefs to 
the officers, he found himfelf in fome degree embarrailed 
by the imperfedion of his light. Taking out his fpei5t<.cles, 
he faid, *' theie eyes," my friends, *' have grown dun, 
and thefe locks white, in the fervice of my country, yet I 
have never doubted her juilice.'* 

The ftyle of General Wafhisgton, it ia obferved by ti.e 
authors of the Britilli critic, is Itrongly marked with that 
dignified limplicity, which is the proof of a great iniud. 



ii 

D. 

Upwatds of 9000 men, together with the great body of 
artillery, ammunition, horfcs, carriages, cattle, provilions, 
Sec. were conveyed from Long-Ifland to New- York, while 
the Britifh army was fo near, that their men were diftinclly 
heard at work with their pick- axes and fhovels. The river 
is near a mile wide, and the decampment lafted thirteen 
hours ; yet the enemy were perfectly ignorant of the mea- 
fure, until it was completed. It ought here to be obferv- 
ed, that, about 2 o'clock in the morning, a thick fog pro- 
videntially favoured the retreating army. 

E. 
The firft knowledge, which Lord Cornwallis had of the 
retreat of General Wafiiington, was in the morning ; a few 
minutes before the noife of the cannon at Princeton was 
heard at Trenton. Sir William Erlkine, it is aflerted, ur- 
ged Lord Cornwallis to place a ftrong body of troops at the 
bridge over Sanpink Creek ; apprehending, that General 
Waihington would retreat into the heart of New-Jerfey 
rather ihan attempt to crofs the Delaware. This, howev- 
er, wasrefufed. Very early in the morning, Lord Corn- 
wallis, while in bed, was informed, that General Wafliing- 
ton had decamped. Sir William at that moment came in. 
His Lordfhipaflvedhim, whither he believed the American 
General to be gone. At that inftant, the artillery was heard 
from the neighbourhood of Princeton. " My Lord," faid 
Sir William, ^' General Waihington tells you where 
he is. Do you not hear him calling to you to come after 
him?" 

So filently was this retreat conduced, that the American 
centinels at the bridge knew nothing uf it, until themfelves 
were ordered to quit their poft. 

F. 
To the fuperintendant of his eftate he wrote from the 
army in the followiHg terms. 

*' Let the holpitality of the houfe be kept up with re- 
fpedt to the poor. Lee no one go hungry away. If any of 
this fort of people ihould be in want of corn, fupply their 
neccllities, provided it does not encourage them in idlenefs. 
I 'have no objeJlion to your giving my money in charity 
when you think it will be well bellowed ; I mean that it is 
^y dcdre^ feliat it Hiould be done. You are to coufider, 



37 

that neither myfclf nor my wife are in the way to do thefc 
good offices." See Dodor Trumbull's Sei-nioa. I\^ote. 

In a letter from a gentleman in Alexandria to his friend 
in Hartford, puDliJhedin theConne«ilicut Courant, it is de- 
clared, that General Waihington doted his own eyes. 
Thus, it appears, his firmnefs forfook him not even in 
the ai'ticle of death. 

H. 

[The humanity of General Wafhington has been im- 
peached, and his charafter virulently attacked, with reipeft 
to the execution of Major Andre ; but he was moft unjuii- 
ly impeached. I am warranted to declare, that he felt 
and exhibited the tendered compallion for that unfortunate 
young man, and that Major Andre oiten expreffed to tin 
American officer, of high refpe.5lability, the veiy polite 
and humane treatment, which he received from General 
Waihington.] 

I. 

Among the plans devifed by General Wafliington fornn- 
htary operations, and expreflive of his greatnefs of mind, 
I beg leave to mention the plan for attacking the Britiih on 
the Delaware, in three points at once, of which only the 
attack on Col. Rahl at Trenton fucceeded, the others being 
prevented by the ice ; the plan of attacking the troops at 
Princeton ; the plan of eroding the Brandy wine te attack 
Lord Cornwallis ; the plan of attack at Germantown j the 
planof the bold and luccefsful attack on Stoney Point ; and 
the great plan of capturing the Britilli force at Yorktown, 
involving the complete illufion of Sir Henry Clinton. 

To thele ought to be added a bold and maflerly dcfign of 
attacking the whole Britiih force on New- York Ifland, 
near the dole of the campaign in 1782. In this defign 
Col. Talmadge was to have attacked the enemy on Long- 
Ifland, the preceeding night, with a body of 750 choice 
troops, and thence 10 ha\ e marched on horfeback to Hell- 
Gate, wl'cre boats, ready to receive him, were to have 
traniported the coips to the oppcfite fhore. Another body 
under tlie conim:;nd of a General Officer was to have 
marched to Kinglbridge, to attack the enemy in front, aiid 
to keep them in full expetTlation of being affaulted there ' 
oiiK ; while the miin body of the army was to h-\e f^oiie 



in boats down Hudfon's River^ and, landing below the ene- 
my in the night, was to have made the principal attack on 
their rear. The American army was at this time in gieat 
force, and perfedly dilciplincd and fupplied. Had this de- 
fign been attempted, there is every realbn to believe, that, 
attacked at one moment, in front, flank and rear, a t da} - 
break, and with total furprife, the triumph over them mull: 
in all probability have been complete. It was prevented 
by a circumftance wholly providential. Two Britilh frigates 
moved up the North River the preceeding day, anchored 
dire>SlIy oppofite to the American army, and thus prevented 
the intended embarkation. There is not a reafon to ima- 
gine, tkat the Britifli commander had a fulpicion of the de- 
lign formed againft him. It is however happy, that itmif- 
carried ; for theprovifional articles of peace had been alrea- 
dy figned in Europe. Of the above defign I have the belt 
information* 

J- . . 

[In no period of General Wafliington's military life did his 

talents and commanding influence appear more confpicuous 
than at the batt'e of Monmouth. The flower of the army 
under General Lee were retreating before the enemy, and 
alnaofl without having made any refiftance. When they 
were thus thrown back upon General Walhington, at the 
head of his fatigued and illiupplied army, it is furpriling, 
that the panic did not become general. General Wafluug- 
ton brought his own troops forward, checked the Biitilli, 
and foon convinced Lee's flying troops, not only, that there 
was no occafion for their retreat, but that they could defeat 
the enemy. General Wafhington never had full ci edit for 
this heroic exploit ; and it has been thought, that if full 
juftice had been done by the Courtmartial, General Lee 
would have been cafliiored.] 

[His aftonilhing power of commanding the minds of men 
was often exempUfied in quieting mutinies, of which he bad 
too many during his military courfe. But no writer has 
done him juftice for his Fabian conduct when the army was 
on the borders of difbanding. Some well written inflani- 
matory pieces were addrefled to the army, after ihe prelimi, 
nary articles of peace had been figned, inviting thtin not to 
lay down their arms, until the country Ihould do them juf- 
tice. Their toils and fufFer ings had ripened them tor any 



39 

defpcrate undertaking. In the glorious office of Mediator 
between his country and the army he appeared with a dig- 
nity fjpreme. He convened and addrefled the officers ; 
the hurricane of paffion fubfided •, and reafon, duty, and 
peace refumed their dominion. The addrefs, and the pub- 
lic orders which followed it,are perpetual monuments of his 
greatnefs and patriotifni. 

AT. B» For the Notes Included In brackets J am indebted t$ 
CoU Ttdmadge* 



THE 

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 

ro THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Fn.IENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS, 

X HE period for a new ele£iion of a Citizen, to admini- 
fler the executive government of the United States, being 
not far diftant, and the time actually ari'ived, when your 
thoughts muft be employed in defignating the perfon, who 
is to be cloathed with that important truft, it appears tome 
pi'oper, efpecially asit may conduce to a more diftinft ex- 
preifion of the public voice, that I fliould new apprife you 
of the refolution I have formed, to decline being confidered 
among the number of thofe, out of whom a choice is to be 
made. 

I beg yon, at the fame time, to do me the juftice to be 
r.flured, that this refolution has not been taken, without a 
^rift regard to all the confiderations appertaining to the re- 
iation, which binds a dutiful citizen to his country ; and 
that, in withdrawing the tender of fervice which filence in 
ray fituation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution 
of zeal for your future intereft ; no deficiency of grateful 
refpeft for your paft kindnefs : But am fupported by a 
full convidlion that the ftep is compatable with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in the office 
to which your fufFrages have twice called me, have been 
a. uniform facrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and 
to a deference for what appeared to be your defire. I con- 
fbantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my 
power confil'tently with motives, which I was not at liberty 
to difregard, to return to that retirement, from which I 
]iad been relnft:intly drav/n. The ftrength of my inclina- 
tion to do this, previous to the lall: eleftion, had even led 
to the preparation of an addrefs to declare it to you ; but 
mature reflexion on the then perplexed and critical pofture 
of affiirs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of 



41 

pcrfons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon 
the idea. 

I rejoice, that the ftate of your concerns external as well 
as internal, no longer renders the purfuit of inclination in- 
compatible with the fentiment of duty, or propriety : And 
am perfuaded whatever partiality may be retailed for my 
fervice, that in the prefent circumllances of our country, 
you will not difapprove my determination to retire. 

The impreffions with wliichi firlt undertooic the arduous 
truft, were explained on the proper occafion. In the dif- 
charge of this truft, I will only fay, that I have with good 
intentions, contributed towards the organization and admi- 
niftration of the government, the beft exertions of which a 
very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconfcious, in 
the out-fet, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experi- 
ence in my own eyes, perhaps ftill more in the eyes ©f others, 
has ftrengthened the motives to diffidence of myfelf : And 
every day the increafing weight of years admonifhes me 
more and more, that the Ihade of retirement is as neceflary 
to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circum- 
ftances have given peculiar value to my fervices, they were 
temporary, 1 have the confolation to beheve, that while 
choice and prudence invite me to quit the political fcene, 
patriotifra does not forbid it. 

In looking forward to the moment, which is intended to 
terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not 
permit me to fufpendthe deepacknowledgmentof that debt 
of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for the 
many honors it has conferred upon me ; ftill more for the 
ftedfall confidence with which it has fupported me ; and for 
the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifefting my 
inviolable attachment, by fervices faithful and perfeverinc-, 
though in ufefulnefs unequal to my zeal. — If benefits have 
refulted to our country from thele fervices, let it always be 
remembered td.our praiie, and as an inftrudive example in 
our annals, that under circumftances in which the paflions, 
agitated in every direction, were liable to miflead, ainidit 
appearances fometimes dubious — vicillitudes of fortune, of- 
ten difcouraging in fituations, in which not unfrequently 
want of fuccefs has countenanced the fpirit of criticifm — the 
conftancy of your fupport was the eflential prop of the ef~ 
forts, and a gurantee of the plans by which tbey were -ef'- 

F 



42 

fecleJ. Profoundly penetrated with ^his idea, I ihaU car- 
ry it with me to my grave, as a ftrong incitemeiiL to un- 
ceafing vows, that Hesveii may continue to you the choi- 
ceft tokens of its benificence — that your union and brother- 
ly affcvflion may be perpetual — that the free Conftitution, 
which is the work of your hands, may be facredly main- 
tained — that its adminiftration in ever department may be 
ftamped with wifdoin and virtue— that, in fine, the happi- 
nefs of the people ofthefe Statei,'unJer the aufpices of liber- 
ty, may be made complete, by fo careful a preferA'ation and 
fo prudent a ufe of this bleffing, as will acquire to them the 
glory of recommendmg it to the applaiife, the affection, and 
adoption of every nation which is yet a ftranger to it. 

Here perhaps, I ought to (top. But folicitude for your 
welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the ap« 
prehenfjon, of danger natural to that folicitude, urge me on 
dn occafion hke the prefent, to ofcr to your folemn con- 
templation, and to recommend to your frequent review, 
fome fentiments ; which are the refult of much refle<flion 
of no inconfiderable obfervation, and which appear to me 
all-impertant to the permanency of your felicity as a, peopk. 
Thefe will be offered to you with the more freedom, asyou 
can only feel in them the difinterefted warnings of a parting 
friend, who can poihbly have no perfonal motive to bias his 
counfel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, 
your indulgent reception of my fentunents oh a former and 
not diifimilar occafion. 

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament 
of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is neceflary to 
fortify or confirm the attachment. 

The unity of Government which conftitutes you one peo- 
ple, is alio now dear to you. It is juftly fo ; for it is a 
main pillar in the edifice of your real Independence, the; 
lupport of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad ; 
of your fafety ; of your profperity ; of that very hberty 
whicii you fo highly prize. Uut, as it is eafy to forefee, 
that from different caufes and from different quarters, rauc^ 
pains will be taken, many artifices em-ioyed, to weaken in 
your wjincis the convidtioa of this truth ; as this is the point 
m your political foitrefs, againtt which the batteries of in* 
ternal and external enemies will be moft conftantly and ac- 
tivp,ly, (thouo,h often covertly and infidftoufly) directed, it is 
of infinite moment that you fliould properly eftimate the 



43 

irtimenfe value of your National- Union; to your collevftive 
and individual happinefs ; that you Jliould cherilli a cordial, 
habitual, and immoveable attachment to if ; accuitoming 
yourfelves to think and ipcak of it as of the palladium of your 
political fafety and prolperity/ watching for its prefervation 
With jealous anxiety : difcountenancing whatever may fug- 
ged even a fufpicioii thar it can in any event be abandoned ; 
and indignantly frawnhjg upon the firfi dawning of every 
attern(f)t to alienate any portion of our country from the 
reft, or to enfeeble the facred ties which now hnk together 
the various p'nns. 

For this you have every inducement ot fympa thy andiw- 
rcreft, Citivef>s, by birthorchoiceyof a common country, 
that country has a right to concentrate your affetSions, 
The name of American, which belongs to you in your 
national capacity, muft always exalt the juftpnde of patri- 
otifm, more than any appellatiori derived from local dilcri- 
minations. With flight fliades of diiference, you have the 
fame religion, manners, habits and political principles. 
You have in a common caufe, fought and triumphed toge- 
ther ; the Independence and Liberty you poffefs are the 
work of joint councils, and joint efforts, ot common dan- 
gers, fufFerings and fucceffes. ,; 
But thefeconfiderations however powerfully they addrefs 
themfelves to yOur fenlibility, are greatly outweighed by 
thofe which apply more immediately to your intereit. Here 
every portion of our country finds the moft commanding 
motives for carefully guarding and preferving the union of 
the whole. 

The North, in an unreftrained intercourfe with the South, 
•Jifotedtfed by the equal laws of a common government, finds 
in the productions of the latter, great additional refources 
of maritime and commercial enterprife, and precious mate- 
rials of manufadluring induftry. The South in the fame in- 
tiercourft, benefiting by the agency of the North, fees its a- 
griculture grow, and its commerce expand. Turning part- 
ly into itsown channels the teamen of the North, it finds its 
particular navigation invigorated-^and while it contributes, 
in different ways, to nourilh and increafe the general mafs 
of the national navigation, it looks forward to the ,protecT:ioqi 
of a maritime ftrcHgth, to which itfelfis unequally adopted. 
T^e Ea/f in alike interconrfe with tiie IfeJ^y already iind.Sj. 



44 

and in the progreflive improvement of interior comnounica- 
tions, by land and water, — will more and more find a 
valuable vent for tbe commodities which it brings from a- 
broad, or manufatSlures at home. The Wefi derives from 
the Eafi fupplies requifite t® its growth and comfort — and 
■what is perhaps of ftill greater confequence, it muft of ne- 
cefTity owe the/ccMrf enjoyment of indifpenfable outlets for 
its own produtflions to the weight, influence, and the future 
maritime ftrength of the Atlantic fide of the Union, direct- 
ed by an indiflbluble community of intereft as one nation. 
Any other tenure by which the Weft can hold this eflential 
advantage, whether derived from its own feparate ftrength, 
or from an apoftate and unnatural connedlion with any fo- 
reign power, muft be intrinfically precarious. 

While then every part of our country thus feels an im- 
mediate and particular intereft in Union, all the parts combi- 
ned cannot fail to find in the united mafs of means and ef- 
forts, greater ftrength, greater refource, proportion ably 
greater fecurity, from external danger, a Icfs frequent in* 
terruption of their peace by foreign nations ; and what is of 
ineftimable value ! they muft derive from Union an exemp- 
tion from thofe broils and wars between themfelves, which 
fo frequently afflift neighbouring countries, not tied toge- 
ther by the fame government ; which their own rivalfhips 
alone would be fufficient to produce, but which oppefite fo- 
reign alliances, attachments and intrigues would ftiniulate 
and imbitter. Henfe likewife they will avoid the neceffity 
of thofe overgrown military eftabhfliments, which under 
any form of government are inaufpicious to liberty, and 
which are to be regarded as particularly hoftile to Repub- 
lican Liberty : In this fenfe it is, that your Union ought to 
be confidered as amain prop of your liberty, ^d that the 
love of the one ought to endear to you the prefervation ot 
the other. 

Thefe confiderations fpeak a perfuafive language to eve- 
ry refleding and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continu- 
ance of the Union as a primary objeft of a patriotic defu'e. 
Is there a doubt, whether a commoB government can em- 
brace, fo large a fphere ? — Let experience fobe it. To 
Men to mere fpeculation in fuch a cafe were criminal. 
We are authorifed to hope that a proper organization, of 
the whole, with the auxiliary agency, oT governments for 
the refpedive fiibdivifiQns_, will afford a happy iflue to the 



45 

experiment. 'Tii well worth a fair and full experiment. 
Withfuch powerful ;nid obvious motives to Union, affeciiing 
allpartsof our country, while experiment fliall not have 
demonltrated it»imprafticability~thcre will always be rea- 
fon to diltrult thepatriotii'm of thofe, who in any qi)jirter 
may endeavour to weaken its bands. 

In contemplating the caul'es which may diflurb our Union^ 
it occurs as matter of ferious concern, that any ground fl^iould 
be furnilhed for charaQerifing parties, by Geographical dif- 
criminations — Not hem and Southern — Atlantic and Wejlern ; 
whence dt'ligning men may endeavour t© excite a belief, 
that there is a real difterence of local interefts and views. 
One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, with- 
in particular diftrids, is to mifreprefent the opinions and 
aims of other diftrifts. You cannot fliield yourfelves too 
much againit thejealoufies and heartburnings which fpring 
from thefe inifreprefentations : they tend to render alien to 
each other thofe who ought to be bound together by fra- 
ternal affedion. — The inhabitants of our weftern country 
have lately had a ufeful lefTon on this head : They have 
feen,inthe negociation by the Executive, and in the una- 
nimous ratification by the Senate, of the Treaty with Spain, 
and in the univerfal fatisfadtion at that event, throughout 
the United States, a decifive proof how unfounded were 
the fufpicions propagated among them, of a policy in the 
general government and in the Atlantic ftates unfriendly 
to their interelts in regard to the Mifimppi 5 they have 
been wimefles to the formation ot two treaties, that with 
Great-Britain and that with Spain, which . fecure to them 
every thing tiiey could defire, in refpecl: to our foreign re- 
lations, towards conHrming their profperity. Will it, not 
be their wifdom to rely for the prefervation of thefe ad.- 
vantages on the union bv which they were procured? 
Will they not henceforth be deaf to thofe advifers, if futh 
they are, who would fever them from their brethren, and 
connect them with aliens ? 

To the efficacy aad permanency of your Union, a go. 
veriunent for the whole is indifpenfable. No aUiance?, 
however ftrift, between the parts can be an adequate fub- 
Ititute ; they will inevitably experience the infraftions and 
interruptions which all alliances in all times have experien- 
ced— Senfible of this momentous truth, you have miprov^ 
ed upon your firft eflay, by the adoption of a conftitution of 



a government better calculated than your former for an 
intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your 
common concerns. This government, the offspring of 
your own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon 
full in^eftigation and mature deliberation, completely free in 
its principles, in the diftribution of its powers, uniting fecu- 
rity with energy, and containing within itlelf a provifion 
for its own amendment, has a jult claim to your confidence 
and your fupport. Refpedl for its authority, compliance 
with its laws, acquiefcence in its meafures, are duties en- 
joined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The 
balls of our political fyflems is the right of the people to 
make and to alter their conftitutions of government. But, 
the conftitution which at any time exifts, till changed by 
an explicit and authentic aft of the whole people, is facred- 
ly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and 
the right of the people t6 eftablilh government, pre-fuppo- 
fes the duty of every individual to obey the eftabhihed go. 
vernment. 

All obrtruftlons to the execution of the laws, all cembi" 
nations and alTociations, under whatever plaufible charac- 
ter, with the real defign to direft, controul, counteraft or 
awe the regular deliberation and action of the conftituted 
[authorities, are deftruftive of this fundamental principle, 
and of fatal tendency. They ferve to organize faftion, to 
■^ive it an artificial and extraordinary force — to put in the 
place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, 
ofteii a fmall but artful and enterprifmg minority of the 
community ; and, according to the alternate triumplis of 
ilifferent parties, to make the public adminiftration the niir- 
1 or of the ill concerted and incongruous projefts of faftion, 
rather than the organ of confident and wholefome plans 
digefted by common councils and modified by mutual in- 
terefts. 

However combinations or affbciations of the above de- 
icription, may now and thenanfwer popular ends, they are 
likely in the courfe of time and things, to become potent 
engines, by which ci,inning, ambitious and unprincipled 
men, will be enabled tjo iubvert the power of the people, 
»Hd to ufurpfor themfelves the reins of government ; de- 
firoying afterwards the very engines which hav6 lifed them 
toianjuft dominion. 

1. owards the prefervation of your governmerit, and the 



47 

permanency of your prefent happy ftate, it is requifite, not 
only that you fteatlily difcountenance irregular oppofition 
to its acknowledged authority, but alfo tliat you refift with 
care, the fpirit of innovation upon its principles, however 
fpecious the pretexts. One method of affauit may be tp 
effedinthe forms of the conftitution, alterations which will 
impair the energy of the fyftem, and thus to undermine 
wiiat cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes 
to which you may be invited, remember that time and ha- 
bit are at lealt as neceffary to fix the true chara(Ser of go- 
vernment, as of other human inftitutions that experience is 
the fureft ftandard, by which to tell the real tendency of 
the exifting conflitution of a country — that facility in chan- 
ges Hpon the credit of mere hypothefis and opinion, expo- 
les to perpetual change, from the endlefs variety of hypo- 
thefis and opinion ; and remember, efpecially, that for the 
efficient management of your common intereit, in a country 
fo extenfive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is 
confiftent with the perfeJl fecurity of liberty, is indifpenfi- 
ble. Liberty itl'elf will find in fuch a government, cvitlj 
powers properly diftributed and adjuUed, its fureft guardi- 
an. It is, indeed, little elfe than a name, where the go- 
vernment is too feeble to withftand the enterprifes of faftion, 
to confine each member of the fociety within the hmits pre- 
fcribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the fecure and 
tranquil enjoyment of tlie rights of perfon and property. 

I have already intimated to you, the danger of parties in 
the ftate, with particular reference to the founding of them 
on geographical dil'crnninations. Let me now take a more 
comprehenfive view and warn you in the rnoft folemn man- 
ner againft the baneful effeds of the fpirit of party, gene, 
rally. 

This fpirit, unfortunately, is infeparable from our na- 
ture, having its root in the ftrongeft paflions of the human 
mind. It exifts under different fliapes in all governments 
— more orlefs ftifled, controled, orreprefled ; but in thofe 
pf the popular form, it is feen in its greateft ranknefs and 
is truly their worft enemy. 

The alternate dominion of one fadion over another, Ihar- 
pened by the fpirit of revenge, natural to party diflention, 
which in different ages and countries has perpetrated tlie 
moft horrid enormities, isitfelfa frightful defpotifni — Bu'; 



48 

this leads at length to a more formal and permanent ciefpo- 
tifm — Thediforders and miferies, which insUilt, gradually 
incline the miuds of men tofeek fecurity, and repofeinthe 
abfolute power of an individual ; and fooner or later the 
chief of fonie prevailing facliion more able or more fortunate 
thai-i his competitors, turns this dripofition to the purpofes 
of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty. 

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind 
(which neverthelefs ought not to be entirely out of fight) 
the common and continual mifchiefsof the fpirit of party are 
fufficient to make it the interelt and duty of a wife people to 
difcourap-e and reltrain it . 

It ferves always to diftraft the Pubhc Councils and enfee- 
ble the Public Adminiliration. It agitates the community 
■with ill founded jealouhes and falfe alarms ; kindles the 
animofity of one part againft another, foments occaCionally 
riot and infurrcdlion. It opens the door to foreign influence 
and corruption, which find a facilitated accefs to the gov- 
ernment itfelf through the channels of party p.iiiions. Thus 
the policy and will of one country are fubjedted to the pol- 
icy and will of another. 

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are ufe- 
ful checks upon the adminiitration of the g©vcrnment, and 
ferve to keep alive the fpirit of Liberty. This within cer- 
tain limits is probably true, and in governments of a monar- 
chical caft, patriotiim may look with indulgence, if not 
with favour upon the fpirit of party. But m thofe of the 
popular charafter, in governments purely elective, it is a 
fpirit not to be encouraged. From their natnral tendency 
it is certain there will always be enot^gh of tliat fpirit for 
every falutary purpofe. And there being conltant danger 
of excefs, the effort ought to be by force oi Public opinion, 
to mitigate and affuage it. A fire not to be quenched ; it 
demands uniform vigilance to prevent its burfting into a 
flame, leaft inftead of warming, it fhould confume. 

It is important likew ife, that the habits of thinking in a 
free country, (liould infpire caution, in thofe entrufted with 
its ad'uiniilration, to contine themfelves within their re- 
fpedlive conftitutional fpheres, avoiding in the exercife of the 
powers of one department to encroach upon another. The 
fpirit of encroachment tends to confohdate the powers of 
all the departments in one^ and thus to create, whatever 



49 

the form of Government, a real defpotifm. A juft eftimate 
of that love of power, and pronenefs to abufe it, which 
predominates in the human heart is fufficient to fatisfy us 
of the truth of this pofition. The necefTity of reciprocal 
checks in the exercife of the political power ; by dividing 
and diftributing it into different depofitories, and conftitu- 
ting each the guardian of the public weal againfl invafions 
by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient an4 
modern ; fome of them in our country and under our own 
eyes. To preferve them mufl be as necelTary as to inftitute 
them. If, in the opinion of the people, the difiribution or 
modification of the conftitutional powers be in any particular 
■wrong, let it be correfted by an amendment in the way, 
which the conftitution defignates — But let there be no 
change by ufurpation ; for though this, in one inftance, 
may be the inftruraent of good, it is the cuftomary weapon 
by which free governments are deftroyed — The precedent 
muft always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any par- 
tial or tranfient benefit which the ufe can at any time yield. 

Of all the difpofitions and habits which lead to political 
profpcrity. Religion and Morality are indifpeniable fup- 
ports. In vain would that Man claim the tribute of Patri- 
otifra, who would labor to fubvert thefe great pillars of hu- 
man happinefs, thefe firmeil props of the duties of men and 
Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man 
ought to refped and to cherilh them. — A volume could not 
trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. 
Let it fimply be afked where is the fecurity for property, 
for reputation, for life, if the fenfe of religious obligation 
defert the oaths which are the inllruments of inveftigation 
in Courts of Juftice ? — And let us with caution indulge the 
fuppofition, that morality can be maintained without Re- 
ligion. Whatever may be conceded of the influence of re- 
fined education on minds of peculiar flrufture ; reafon and 
experience both forbid us to expeft that national morality- 
can prevail in exclufion of religious principle. 

Tis fubflantially true, that virtue or morality is a neceC- 
fary fpring of popular government. The rule indeed ex- 
tends with more or lefs force to every fpecies of free gov- 
emmenu Who that is a fincere Friend to it caa lock 



5^ 

wiili iiuiitl'erence upon attempts to fiiuke the foundation 
of the Fabric? 

Promote, then as an ohjeft of primary importance, in- 
ftitutioiis for the jreneral difFufion of kuo^vledge. In pro- 
piirtion as the Ibudure of a government gives force to 
public opinion, it is ell'ential that public opinion fhoul'dbe 
cnlighteiaeJ. 

As a very important fource pf Riength and lecurity, 
cherilh public credit. One method of pi-eferving it is to 
life It as fparingly as poilible ; avoiding occafions of ex- 
pence by cultivating peace, but remembering alfo that 
timely diiburfements to prepare for dangers, frequently 
prevent much greater diiburfements to repel it : Avoiding 
likewife the accumulation of debt, not only by fhunning 
occafions of expence, but by vigorous exertions in time 
of peace to difcharge the debts which unavoidable wars 
may have occalioned, not ungeneroudy throwing upon 
pofterity the burthen which we ourfelves ought to bear. 
The execution of thefe maxims belongs to your repre- 
fentatives, but it is neceflary that public opinion fhould 
co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of 
their duty, it is efleatial that you Ihould pradically bear in 
mind that tov,?ards the payment of debts there mult be re- 
venue ; — that to have revenue there muft be taxes — artd 
none can be devifed which are not more orlefs inconveni- 
ent and unpleafant — that the intrinfic embarraffment infe- 
parable from the feledion of the proper objects (which is 
always a choice of difficulties) — ought to be a decifive mo- 
tive for a candid conftruilion of the conduft of the govern- 
ment in making it, and for a fpirit of acquiefcence in the 
inealures for obtaining revenue which the public exigencies 
may at any time diftate. 

Obfcrve good faith and juftice towards all nations ; cul- 
tivate peace and harmony with ali — Religion and Morali- 
ty enjoin this conduft ; and can it be, that good policy does 
not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy of a free, enlight- 
ened, and (at no diftant period) a great nation, to give to 
mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a peo-. 
pie alvvays guided by an exalted juftice and benevolence. 
W ho can doubt that in the courfe of time and things, the 
fruits of fuch a plan would richly repay any temporary ad- 
vantages which might be loft by a fteady adherence to it ? 
Can it be, that Providence has not conneded the penna- 



51 

nent felicity of a Nation with Virtue ? The experinienr, 
at leaft, is recommendecl by every fentiment which enno- 
bles human nature. — Alas ! is it rendered inipolhble by its 
vices ? 

In the execution of fuch a plan, nothing is more efTenti- 
al than that permanent, inveterate antiparliies ngainft par- 
-ticular Nations, and pafilonate attachments for oUiers Jhould 
be excluded; and that in the place of them, juft and ami- 
cable feelings towards all fhould be cultivated. The Na- 
tion which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, 
or an habitual fondnefs, is in fome degree a flave. — It is a 
flave to its animofity or to its afFedlion, either of which is 
fufficient to lead it aftray from its duty and its intereft. 
Antipathy in one nation againft another difpofes each more 
readily to oft'crinfult and mjury, to lay hold of flight cayf- 
es of umbrage, and to be haughty and intradable, when ac- 
cidental or trifling occalions of difputc occur. 

Hence frequent coUilions, obftinate, envenomed and 
bloody conteft:s. The Nation, prompted by ill will and 
refentment, fometimes impels towar the government, con- 
trary to the befl: calculations of policy; The government 
fometimes participates in the national propenlity, and a- 
dopts through paffion what reafon would reject ; at other 
times, it makes the animofity of the nation lubfervient to 
projects of hoftility inftigated by pride, ambition, and other 
llnifter and pernicious motives. The peace often, fome- 
times perhaps the liberty of Nations has been the victim. 

So hkewile, a paflionate attachment of one Nation for 
another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favo- 
rite Nation, facilitating the illufion of an imaginary com- 
mon interefl, in cales where no real common interefl- ex- 
ifts, and infufing into one the enmities of the other, 
betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels 
and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or 
juftification. It leads alio to concelfions to the favorite na- 
tion of privileges denied toothers, which is apt doubly ta 
injure the Nation making the conceiiions : by uniiecexla- 
rily parting with what ought to have been retained ; and 
by exciting jealoufy, ill will, and a difpolition to retaliakv 
in the parties from whom equal privileges are vviihhtld : 
— And it gives to ambitious, corrupted or deluded ciiizens, 
(who devote themfelves to the favorite Nation) ficility lo 
betray, or facrifice the interefls of their own cour.try,. v.ith- 



(put odium, fomctimes even with popularity ; gilding with 
the appearances of a virtuous ienfe of obligation a comtncn- 
diible deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for 
public good, th? bafe or foolifh compliances of ambition, 
corruption, ©r infatuation. 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, 
fuch attachments are particularly alarming to the truly en- 
lightened and independent patriot. How many opportuni- 
ties do they afford to tamper with domeftic faftions, to prac- 
tice the arts of fedu£lion to miflead public opinion, to in- 
fluence or awe the public councils ; fuch an attachment of 
a Iniall or weak, towards a great and powerful nation, 
dooms the former to be the fatellite of the latter. 

Againft the infiduous wiles of foreign influence (I con- 
jure you to believe me, fellow citizens) the jealoufy of afree 
people ought to be conflantly awake ; fince hiftory and. ex- 
perience prove that foreign influence is one of the mdfl: 
baneful foes of Repubhcan Government. But that jealou- 
fy to be ufefal mull be impartial ; elfe it becomes the in- 
ftrument of the very influence to be avoided, inftead of a 
defence agairft it. Excelhve partiality for one foreign na- 
tion, and excelfive diflike of another, caufe thofe whom 
tbey aftuate to fee danger only on one fide, and ferve to 
veil and even fecond the arts of influence on the other. 
Real patriots, who may refifl: the intrigues of the favorite, 
are liable to become fufpeded and odious ; while its tools 
and dupes ufurp the applaufe and confidence of the people 
to furrender their incereflis. 

The great rule of conduft for us in regard to foreign 
nations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have 
with them as Hrtle political connexion as poffibl?. So lar 
as we have already formed engagenjients, let them be ful- 
filled with perfed good faith — Her6-4et us flop. 

Europe has a fet of primary interefls, which to us have 
none, or a very remote relation. Hence fhe mufl be en- 
gaged in frequent controverfies, the caufes of which are 
cireiitially foreign to our concerns. Hence Therefore, it 
inufl be r.nwife in us to implicate ourfelves, hy artificial 
ties, in the ordinary vicifitudes of her pontics, or the ordi- 
jiary covnbinatipns and coUiiions of her fricndfliips, or en- 
:aiitiei. 

Our detached and diflantlituaricn. invites and er.ablts Ui 



51 

to purine a different courfe. If we reraain'one people, un- 
der an efficient government, the period is not far off, when 
we may defy material injury from external annoyance ; 
when we may take fuck an attitude as will caufe the neu- 
trality, we may at any time refolve upon, to be fcrupulouf- 
ly refpedled ; when belligerent nations, under the impof- 
fibility of making acquifitions upon us, will not lightly ha- 
zard the giving us provocation ; when we may choofe 
peace or war, as our intereft, guided by juftice, (hall 
counfel. 

Why forego the advantages of fo peculiar a fituation ? 
Why quit our own, to ftand upon foreign ground ? Why, 
by interweaving our deftiny with that of any part of Europe, 
•entangle our peace and profperity in the toils of Europe- 
an ambition, rivalfliip, intereft, humour or caprice ? 

'Tisour true policy to fleer clear of permanent alliances, 
with any portion of the foreign world ; fo far, I mean, as 
we are now at liberty to do it ; for let me not, be under- 
ftood as capable of patronizing infidelity to exifting engage- 
ments. I hold the maxim no lefs applicable to public than 
to private affairs, that honefty is always the beft policy. I 
repeat it, therefore, let thofe engagements be obferved in 
their genuine fenfe. But in my opinion, it is ttnneceffary, 
and would be unwife to extend them. 

Taking care always to keep ourlelves, by fuitable eftab- 
lifhments, on a refpeftable defenfive pofture, we may fale- 
ly tiuft to temporary alliances for extraordinary emer- 
gencies. 

Harmony, liberal intercourfe with all nations, are re- 
commended by policj'^, humanity and interefl. But even 
our commercial policy, Ihould hold an equal and impartial 
hand ; neither fending er granting exclullve favours or 
preferences — confulting the natural courie of things ; dif- 
fiifing and diverfifying by gentle means the ftreams of com- 
merce, but forcing nothing ; eftablilhing, with powers fo 
difpofed, in order to give trade a ftable courfe to define the 
rights of our merchants, and to enabie the Government to 
fupportthem ; conventional rules of intercourle, the befl 
thatprefent circumflances and mutual opinion will permit, 
but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandsn- 
ed or varied as experience and circumtlances Ihall didate ; 
ronftantly keeping in view, that 'tis folly in one nation to 
look for difiatereited favours from another ; that it nmft 



54 

pay with a portion of its Independence for whatever it may 
accept under that chvader ; that by fuch acceptance, it 
may place itfelf in the condition of having given equivalents 
for nominal favours, and yet of bemg reproached with in« 
gratitude for not giving more. — There can be no greater 
error than to expert, or calculate, upon real favours from 
nation to nation. 'Tis an illufion which experience mud 
cure, which ajuftpride ought to difcard. 

In offering to you, my countrymen, thefe counfels of an 
old affediionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the 
ftrong and lading imprelfion I could wifli — that they will 
controul the ufual current of the pafTiofls, or prevent our 
nation from running the courfe which has hitherto marked 
the deftiny of nations ': Bat if I may even flatter myfelf, 
that they may be productive of fome partial benefit, fome 
cccafional good ; that they may now and then recur to 
moderate the fury of party fpirit, to warn againft the mif- 
chiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard againft the mipoftures 
of pretended patriotifm ; this hope will be a fijl recompence 
for the folicitude for your welfare, by which they have 
been diftated. 

How far in the difcharge of my official duties, I have been 
guided by the principles which have been delineated, the 
public records and other evidences of my condufl mufl 
witnefs to you and to the world. To myfelf, the alTurance 
of my own confcience is, that I have at leaft believed my- 
felf to be guided by them. 

In relation to the ftill fubfifting war in Europe, my Pro- 
clamation of the 22d of April, 1 795, is the index to my 
plan. Sandlioned by your approvmg voice, and by that 
of your Reprefentatives in both Houfes of Congrels, the 
fpirit of that meafure has continually governed me ; unin- 
fluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it. 

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the beft 
lights I could obtain, I was well fatisfied that our country, 
under all the circumftances of the cafe, had a right to take 
and was hound in duty and interefl to take a neuti*al poU- 
tion. Having taken it, I <letermined, as far as iliould de- 
pend on m^, to maintain it, with woderaiionZp'-^"^^'^'^'^^'^'" 

The confiderations which refpedt the right to hold this 
^onduft, it is not neceJTary on this occafion to detail. I 'a ill 
•nly obiVrve, that according to my underllantHng of liie 



55 

matter, that right, fo fir from being clenie(^ by any of the 
Belligerent Powers, has been virtually admitted by all. 

The duty of holding a neutral conduft may be inferred, 
without any thing more, from the obligation which juftice 
and humanity impofe on every nation, in cafes in which it 
is fi-ee to ad:, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and 
amity towards other wations. 

The inducements of interefl for obferving that conduft 
will beft be referred to your own reflexions and experi- 
ence. With me, a predominant motive has been to endea- 
vour to gain time to our country to fettle and mature its yet 
recent inftitutions, and to progrefs without interruption, 
to that degree of ftrength and confiflency, which is neceflary 
to give it, humanly fpeaking, the command of its own for- 
tunes. 

Though in reviewing the incidents of my adminiftratl- 
on, I am unconfcious of intentional error : I am neverthe- 
lefs too fenfible of my defedis not to think it probable that 
I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may 
be, I fervently befeech the Almighty to avert or mitigate 
the evils, to which they may tend. I fliall alfo carry with 
nje the hope that my country will never ceafe to view them 
with indulgence ; and that after forty- five years of my life 
dedicated to its fervice, with an upright zeal, the faults of 
incompetent abilities will be configned to oblivion, as my- 
felf mull foon be J^he manfions of reH. 

Relying on its kindnefs in this as in other things, and ac- 
tuated by that fervent love towards it, which is fo natural 
to a man who views in it the native foil of himfelf and his 
progenitors for feveral generations ; I anticipate with plea- 
ling expedation that retreat, in which I promife myfelf to 
realize, without alloy, the fweet enjoyment of partaking, in 
the midftof my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good 
laws under a free government — the ever favorite objedl of 
my heart, and the happy reward as I truft, of our mutual 
cares, labours and dangers. 

G. WASHINGTON. 

United States, 7 
I'jth September, 1796. j" 



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